Cross-Slot Scheduling for New Radio

ABSTRACT

A user equipment device may determine whether to power down one or more components based at least on a scheduling parameter that includes an indication of cross-slot scheduling. The device may power down the one or more components prior to decoding control information during a slot for which the scheduling parameter indicates that cross-slot scheduling is in place.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/852,494, entitled “Cross-Slot Scheduling for New Radio,” filed Jun.29, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/575,272, entitled “Cross-Slot Scheduling for New Radio,” filed Sep.18, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,405,943, issued Aug. 2, 2022, whichclaims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No.62/738,580, entitled “Wideband Transmission with Narrowband Monitoring,and Cross-Slot Scheduling for New Radio Unlicensed Spectrum (NRU),”filed Sep. 28, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety as though fully and completely set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present application relates to wireless communications, and moreparticularly to cross-slot scheduling enhancements for New Radio (NR)communications.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Wireless communication systems are rapidly growing in usage. In recentyears, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers havebecome increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting telephonecalls, many mobile devices (i.e., user equipment devices or UEs) nowprovide access to the internet, email, text messaging, and navigationusing the global positioning system (GPS), and are capable of operatingsophisticated applications that utilize these functionalities.Additionally, there exist numerous different wireless communicationtechnologies and standards. Some examples of wireless communicationstandards include GSM, UMTS (WCDMA, TDS-CDMA), LTE, LTE Advanced(LTE-A), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), BLUETOOTH™, etc.

The ever increasing number of features and functionality introduced inwireless communication devices also creates a continuous need forimprovement in both wireless communications and in wirelesscommunication devices. To increase coverage and better serve theincreasing demand and range of envisioned uses of wirelesscommunication, in addition to the communication standards mentionedabove, there are further wireless communication technologies underdevelopment, including fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR)communication. Accordingly, improvements in the field in support of suchdevelopment and design are desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments relate to apparatuses, systems, and methods to performvarious communication techniques. A wireless device may receive ascheduling parameter from a base station. The parameter may indicatecross-slot scheduling, same slot scheduling, and/or related information.Based on the scheduling parameter, the wireless device may determinewhether to power off one or more components after receiving controlinformation. The wireless device may receive control information fromthe base station and power off the component(s) according to thedetermination. The wireless device may decode the control information.

The techniques described herein may be implemented in and/or used with anumber of different types of devices, including but not limited tocellular phones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portablemedia players, and any of various other computing devices.

This Summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of thesubject matter described in this document. Accordingly, it will beappreciated that the above-described features are merely examples andshould not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subjectmatter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, andadvantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparentfrom the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary (and simplified) wireless communicationsystem, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary base station in communication with anexemplary wireless user equipment (UE) device, according to someembodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a UE, according to someembodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a base station,according to some embodiments;

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary diagram illustrating cellular communicationcircuitry, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary flow diagram illustrating a method forpowering down based on cross-slot scheduling, according to someembodiments;

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary information element including schedulingparameters, according to some embodiments; and

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary table illustrating use of an index as a togglefor K0, according to some embodiments.

While features described herein are susceptible to various modificationsand alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way ofexample in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that the drawings and detailed description theretoare not intended to be limiting to the particular form disclosed, but onthe contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalentsand alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subjectmatter as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Acronyms

Various acronyms are used throughout the present application.Definitions of the most prominently used acronyms that may appearthroughout the present application are provided below:

-   -   AMR: Adaptive Multi-Rate    -   AP: Access Point    -   APN: Access Point Name    -   APR: Applications Processor    -   BS: Base Station    -   BSR: Buffer Size Report    -   BSSID: Basic Service Set Identifier    -   CBRS: Citizens Broadband Radio Service    -   CBSD: Citizens Broadband Radio Service Device    -   CCA: Clear Channel Assessment    -   CMR: Change Mode Request    -   CS: Circuit Switched    -   DL: Downlink (from BS to UE)    -   DSDS: Dual SIM Dual Standby    -   DYN: Dynamic    -   EDCF: Enhanced Distributed Coordination Function    -   FDD: Frequency Division Duplexing    -   FO: First-Order state    -   FT: Frame Type    -   GAA: General Authorized Access    -   GPRS: General Packet Radio Service    -   GSM: Global System for Mobile Communication    -   GTP: GPRS Tunneling Protocol    -   IMS: Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem    -   IP: Internet Protocol    -   IR: Initialization and Refresh state    -   KPI: Key Performance Indicator    -   LAN: Local Area Network    -   LBT: Listen Before Talk    -   LQM: Link Quality Metric    -   LTE: Long Term Evolution    -   MNO: Mobile Network Operator    -   NB: Narrowband    -   OOS: Out of Sync    -   PAL: Priority Access Licensee    -   PDCP: Packet Data Convergence Protocol    -   PDN: Packet Data Network    -   PDU: Protocol Data Unit    -   PGW: PDN Gateway    -   PLMN: Public Land Mobile Network    -   PSD: Power Spectral Density    -   PSS: Primary Synchronization Signal    -   PT: Payload Type    -   QBSS: Quality of Service Enhanced Basic Service Set    -   QI: Quality Indicator    -   RAT: Radio Access Technology    -   RF: Radio Frequency    -   ROHC: Robust Header Compression    -   RTP: Real-time Transport Protocol    -   RTT: Round Trip Time    -   RX: Reception/Receive    -   SAS: Spectrum Allocation Server    -   SID: System Identification Number    -   SIM: Subscriber Identity Module    -   SGW: Serving Gateway    -   SMB: Small/Medium Business    -   SSS: Secondary Synchronization Signal    -   TBS: Transport Block Size    -   TCP: Transmission Control Protocol    -   TDD: Time Division Duplexing    -   TX: Transmission/Transmit    -   UE: User Equipment    -   UL: Uplink (from UE to BS)    -   UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunication System    -   USIM: UMTS Subscriber Identity Module    -   WB: Wideband    -   Wi-Fi: Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) RAT based on the        Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802.11        standards    -   WLAN: Wireless LAN

Terms

The following is a glossary of terms that may appear in the presentapplication:

-   -   Memory Medium—Any of various types of memory devices or storage        devices. The term “memory medium” is intended to include an        installation medium, e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disks, or tape        device; a computer system memory or random access memory such as        DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; a non-volatile        memory such as a Flash, magnetic media, e.g., a hard drive, or        optical storage; registers, or other similar types of memory        elements, etc. The memory medium may comprise other types of        memory as well or combinations thereof. In addition, the memory        medium may be located in a first computer system in which the        programs are executed, or may be located in a second different        computer system which connects to the first computer system over        a network, such as the Internet. In the latter instance, the        second computer system may provide program instructions to the        first computer system for execution. The term “memory medium”        may include two or more memory mediums which may reside in        different locations, e.g., in different computer systems that        are connected over a network.    -   Carrier Medium—a memory medium as described above, as well as a        physical transmission medium, such as a bus, network, and/or        other physical transmission medium that conveys signals such as        electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.

Computer System (or Computer)—any of various types of computing orprocessing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), mainframecomputer system, workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance,personal digital assistant (PDA), television system, grid computingsystem, or other device or combinations of devices. In general, the term“computer system” may be broadly defined to encompass any device (orcombination of devices) having at least one processor that executesinstructions from a memory medium.

-   -   User Equipment (UE) (or “UE Device”)—any of various types of        computer systems devices which perform wireless communications.        Also referred to as wireless communication devices, many of        which may be mobile and/or portable. Examples of UE devices        include mobile telephones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone™,        Android™-based phones) and tablet computers such as iPad™,        Samsung Galaxy™, etc., gaming devices (e.g. Sony PlayStation™,        Microsoft XBox™, etc.), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo        DS™, PlayStation Portable™, Gameboy Advance™, iPod™), laptops,        wearable devices (e.g. Apple Watch™, Google Glass™), PDAs,        portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices,        or other handheld devices, etc. Various other types of devices        would fall into this category if they include Wi-Fi or both        cellular and Wi-Fi communication capabilities and/or other        wireless communication capabilities, for example over        short-range radio access technologies (SRATs) such as        BLUETOOTH™, etc. In general, the term “UE” or “UE device” may be        broadly defined to encompass any electronic, computing, and/or        telecommunications device (or combination of devices) which is        capable of wireless communication and may also be        portable/mobile.    -   Base Station (BS)—The term “Base Station” has the full breadth        of its ordinary meaning, and at least includes a wireless        communication station installed at a fixed location and used to        communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio        system.    -   Processing Element—refers to various elements or combinations of        elements that are capable of performing one or more functions in        a device, e.g. in a user equipment device or in a cellular        network device, and/or cause the user equipment device or        cellular network device to perform one or more functions.        Processing elements may include, for example: processors and        associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor        cores, entire processor cores, processor arrays, circuits such        as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit),        programmable hardware elements such as a field programmable gate        array (FPGA), as well any of various combinations of the above.    -   Wireless Device (or wireless communication device)—any of        various types of computer systems devices which performs        wireless communications using WLAN communications, SRAT        communications, Wi-Fi communications and the like. As used        herein, the term “wireless device” may refer to a UE device, as        defined above, or to a stationary device, such as a stationary        wireless client or a wireless base station. For example a        wireless device may be any type of wireless station of an 802.11        system, such as an access point (AP) or a client station (UE),        or any type of wireless station of a cellular communication        system communicating according to a cellular radio access        technology (e.g. LTE, CDMA, GSM), such as a base station or a        cellular telephone, for example.    -   Wi-Fi—The term “Wi-Fi” has the full breadth of its ordinary        meaning, and at least includes a wireless communication network        or RAT that is serviced by wireless LAN (WLAN) access points and        which provides connectivity through these access points to the        Internet. Most modern Wi-Fi networks (or WLAN networks) are        based on IEEE 802.11 standards and are marketed under the name        “Wi-Fi”. A Wi-Fi (WLAN) network is different from a cellular        network.    -   Automatically—refers to an action or operation performed by a        computer system (e.g., software executed by the computer system)        or device (e.g., circuitry, programmable hardware elements,        ASICs, etc.), without user input directly specifying or        performing the action or operation. Thus the term        “automatically” is in contrast to an operation being manually        performed or specified by the user, where the user provides        input to directly perform the operation. An automatic procedure        may be initiated by input provided by the user, but the        subsequent actions that are performed “automatically” are not        specified by the user, i.e., are not performed “manually”, where        the user specifies each action to perform. For example, a user        filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and        providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing        information, selecting check boxes, radio selections, etc.) is        filling out the form manually, even though the computer system        must update the form in response to the user actions. The form        may be automatically filled out by the computer system where the        computer system (e.g., software executing on the computer        system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills in the form        without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As        indicated above, the user may invoke the automatic filling of        the form, but is not involved in the actual filling of the form        (e.g., the user is not manually specifying answers to fields but        rather they are being automatically completed). The present        specification provides various examples of operations being        automatically performed in response to actions the user has        taken.    -   Station (STA)—The term “station” herein refers to any device        that has the capability of communicating wirelessly, e.g. by        using the 802.11 protocol. A station may be a laptop, a desktop        PC, PDA, access point or Wi-Fi phone or any type of device        similar to a UE. An STA may be fixed, mobile, portable or        wearable. Generally in wireless networking terminology, a        station (STA) broadly encompasses any device with wireless        communication capabilities, and the terms station (STA),        wireless client (UE) and node (BS) are therefore often used        interchangeably.    -   Configured to—Various components may be described as “configured        to” perform a task or tasks. In such contexts, “configured to”        is a broad recitation generally meaning “having structure that”        performs the task or tasks during operation. As such, the        component can be configured to perform the task even when the        component is not currently performing that task (e.g., a set of        electrical conductors may be configured to electrically connect        a module to another module, even when the two modules are not        connected). In some contexts, “configured to” may be a broad        recitation of structure generally meaning “having circuitry        that” performs the task or tasks during operation. As such, the        component can be configured to perform the task even when the        component is not currently on. In general, the circuitry that        forms the structure corresponding to “configured to” may include        hardware circuits.

Various components may be described as performing a task or tasks, forconvenience in the description. Such descriptions should be interpretedas including the phrase “configured to.” Reciting a component that isconfigured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not toinvoke 35 U.S.C. § 112, paragraph six, interpretation for thatcomponent.

FIGS. 1 and 2—Exemplary Communication Systems

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary (and simplified) wireless communicationsystem, according to some embodiments. It is noted that the system ofFIG. 1 is merely one example of a possible system, and embodiments maybe implemented in any of various systems, as desired.

As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a basestation 102 which communicates over a transmission medium with one ormore user devices 106A through 106N. Each of the user devices may bereferred to herein as a “user equipment” (UE) or UE device. Thus, theuser devices 106 are referred to as UEs or UE devices.

The base station 102 may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or cellsite, and may include hardware that enables wireless communication withthe UEs 106A through 106N. The base station 102 may also be equipped tocommunicate with a network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellularservice provider, a telecommunication network such as a public switchedtelephone network (PSTN), and/or the Internet, neutral host or variousCBRS deployments, among various possibilities). Thus, the base station102 may facilitate communication between the user devices and/or betweenthe user devices and the network 100. The communication area (orcoverage area) of the base station may be referred to as a “cell.” Itshould also be noted that “cell” may also refer to a logical identityfor a given coverage area at a given frequency. In general, anyindependent cellular wireless coverage area may be referred to as a“cell”. In such cases a base station may be situated at particularconfluences of three cells. The base station, in this uniform topology,may serve three 120 degree beam width areas referenced as cells. Also,in case of carrier aggregation, small cells, relays, etc. may eachrepresent a cell. Thus, in carrier aggregation in particular, there maybe primary cells and secondary cells which may service at leastpartially overlapping coverage areas but on different respectivefrequencies. For example, a base station may serve any number of cells,and cells served by a base station may or may not be collocated (e.g.remote radio heads). As also used herein, from the perspective of UEs, abase station may sometimes be considered as representing the networkinsofar as uplink and downlink communications of the UE are concerned.Thus, a UE communicating with one or more base stations in the networkmay also be interpreted as the UE communicating with the network.

The base station 102 and the user devices may be configured tocommunicate over the transmission medium using any of various radioaccess technologies (RATs), also referred to as wireless communicationtechnologies, or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (WCDMA),LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LAA/LTE-U, 5G-NR (NR, for short), 3GPP2CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), Wi-Fi, WiMAX etc.Depending on a given application or specific considerations, forconvenience some of the various different RATs may be functionallygrouped according to an overall defining characteristic. For example,all cellular RATs may be collectively considered as representative of afirst (form/type of) RAT, while Wi-Fi communications may be consideredas representative of a second RAT. In other cases, individual cellularRATs may be considered individually as different RATs. For example, whendifferentiating between cellular communications and Wi-Ficommunications, “first RAT” may collectively refer to all cellular RATsunder consideration, while “second RAT” may refer to Wi-Fi. Similarly,when applicable, different forms of Wi-Fi communications (e.g. over 2.4GHz vs. over 5 GHz) may be considered as corresponding to differentRATs. Furthermore, cellular communications performed according to agiven RAT (e.g. LTE or NR) may be differentiated from each other on thebasis of the frequency spectrum in which those communications areconducted. For example, LTE or NR communications may be performed over aprimary licensed spectrum as well as over a secondary spectrum such asan unlicensed spectrum. Overall, the use of various terms andexpressions will always be clearly indicated with respect to and withinthe context of the various applications/embodiments under consideration.

As mentioned above, UE 106 may be capable of communicating usingmultiple wireless communication standards. For example, a UE 106 mightbe configured to communicate using any or all of a 3GPP cellularcommunication standard (such as LTE or NR) or a 3GPP2 cellularcommunication standard (such as a cellular communication standard in theCDMA2000 family of cellular communication standards). Base station 102and other similar base stations operating according to the same or adifferent cellular communication standard may thus be provided as one ormore networks of cells, which may provide continuous or nearlycontinuous overlapping service to UE 106 and similar devices over a widegeographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

The UE 106 might also or alternatively be configured to communicateusing WLAN, BLUETOOTH™, BLUETOOTH™ Low-Energy, one or more globalnavigational satellite systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one and/ormore mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M/H or DVB-H),etc. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (includingmore than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary user equipment 106 (e.g., one of thedevices 106-1 through 106-N) in communication with the base station 102,according to some embodiments. The UE 106 may be a device with wirelessnetwork connectivity such as a mobile phone, a hand-held device, acomputer or a tablet, or virtually any type of wireless device. The UE106 may include a processor that is configured to execute programinstructions stored in memory. The UE 106 may perform any of the methodembodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions.Alternatively, or in addition, the UE 106 may include a programmablehardware element such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) that isconfigured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein, orany portion of any of the method embodiments described herein. The UE106 may be configured to communicate using any of multiple wirelesscommunication protocols. For example, the UE 106 may be configured tocommunicate using two or more of CDMA2000, LTE, LTE-A, NR, WLAN, orGNSS. Other combinations of wireless communication standards are alsopossible.

The UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using oneor more wireless communication protocols according to one or more RATstandards. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may share one or more partsof a receive chain and/or transmit chain between multiple wirelesscommunication standards. The shared radio may include a single antenna,or may include multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performingwireless communications. Alternatively, the UE 106 may include separatetransmit and/or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas andother radio components) for each wireless communication protocol withwhich it is configured to communicate. As another alternative, the UE106 may include one or more radios which are shared between multiplewireless communication protocols, and one or more radios which are usedexclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example,the UE 106 may include a shared radio for communicating using either ofLTE or CDMA2000 1xRTT or NR, and separate radios for communicating usingeach of Wi-Fi and BLUETOOTH™. Other configurations are also possible.

FIG. 3—Block Diagram of an Exemplary UE

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary UE 106, according tosome embodiments. As shown, the UE 106 may include a system on chip(SOC) 300, which may include portions for various purposes. For example,as shown, the SOC 300 may include processor(s) 302 which may executeprogram instructions for the UE 106 and display circuitry 304 which mayperform graphics processing and provide display signals to the display360. The processor(s) 302 may also be coupled to memory management unit(MMU) 340, which may be configured to receive addresses from theprocessor(s) 302 and translate those addresses to locations in memory(e.g., memory 306, read only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310)and/or to other circuits or devices, such as the display circuitry 304,radio circuitry 330, connector I/F 320, and/or display 360. The MMU 340may be configured to perform memory protection and page tabletranslation or set up. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be includedas a portion of the processor(s) 302.

As shown, the SOC 300 may be coupled to various other circuits of the UE106. For example, the UE 106 may include various types of memory (e.g.,including NAND flash 310), a connector interface 320 (e.g., for couplingto the computer system), the display 360, and wireless communicationcircuitry (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, CDMA2000, BLUETOOTH™, Wi-Fi, GPS,etc.). The UE device 106 may include at least one antenna (e.g. 335 a),and possibly multiple antennas (e.g. illustrated by antennas 335 a and335 b), for performing wireless communication with base stations and/orother devices. Antennas 335 a and 335 b are shown by way of example, andUE device 106 may include fewer or more antennas. Overall, the one ormore antennas are collectively referred to as antenna(s) 335. Forexample, the UE device 106 may use antenna(s) 335 to perform thewireless communication with the aid of radio circuitry 330. As notedabove, the UE may be configured to communicate wirelessly using multiplewireless communication standards in some embodiments.

The processor(s) 302 of the UE device 106 may be configured to implementpart or all of the methods described herein, e.g., by executing programinstructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitorycomputer-readable memory medium). In other embodiments, processor(s) 302may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA(Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit). Furthermore, processor(s) 302 may be coupled toand/or may interoperate with other components as shown in FIG. 3 , e.g.,to operate according to various embodiments disclosed herein.Processor(s) 302 may also implement various other applications and/orend-user applications running on UE 106.

In some embodiments, radio 300 may include separate controllersdedicated to controlling communications for various respective RATstandards. For example, as shown in FIG. 3 , radio circuitry 330 mayinclude a Wi-Fi controller 356, a cellular controller (e.g. LTE and/orNR controller) 352, and BLUETOOTH™ controller 354, and in at least someembodiments, one or more or all of these controllers may be implementedas respective integrated circuits (ICs or chips, for short) incommunication with each other and with SOC 300 (and more specificallywith processor(s) 302). For example, Wi-Fi controller 356 maycommunicate with cellular controller 352 over a cell-ISM link or WCIinterface, and/or BLUETOOTH™ controller 354 may communicate withcellular controller 352 over a cell-ISM link, etc. While three separatecontrollers are illustrated within radio circuitry 330, otherembodiments have fewer or more similar controllers for various differentRATs that may be implemented in UE device 106.

FIG. 4—Block Diagram of an Exemplary Base Station

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary base station 102,according to some embodiments. It is noted that the base station of FIG.4 is merely one example of a possible base station. As shown, the basestation 102 may include processor(s) 404 which may execute programinstructions for the base station 102. The processor(s) 404 may also becoupled to memory management unit (MMU) 440, which may be configured toreceive addresses from the processor(s) 404 and translate thoseaddresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read only memory(ROM) 450) or to other circuits or devices.

The base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Thenetwork port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network andprovide a plurality of devices, such as UE devices 106, access to thetelephone network as described above in FIGS. 1 and 2 . The network port470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively beconfigured to couple to a cellular network, e.g., a core network of acellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility relatedservices and/or other services to a plurality of devices, such as UEdevices 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may couple to atelephone network via the core network, and/or the core network mayprovide a telephone network (e.g., among other UE devices serviced bythe cellular service provider).

The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434, and possiblymultiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured tooperate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured tocommunicate with UE devices 106 via radio 430. The antenna 434communicates with the radio 430 via communication chain 432.Communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain orboth. The radio 430 may be designed to communicate via various wirelesstelecommunication standards, including, but not limited to, LTE, LTE-AWCDMA, CDMA2000, etc. The processor(s) 404 of the base station 102 maybe configured to implement part or all of the methods described herein,e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g.,a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), for base station 102to communicate with a UE device. Alternatively, the processor(s) 404 maybe configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (FieldProgrammable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific IntegratedCircuit), or a combination thereof. In the case of certain RATs, forexample Wi-Fi, base station 102 may be designed as an access point (AP),in which case network port 470 may be implemented to provide access to awide area network and/or local area network (s), e.g. it may include atleast one Ethernet port, and radio 430 may be designed to communicateaccording to the Wi-Fi standard. Base station 102 may operate accordingto the various methods and embodiments as disclosed herein.

FIG. 5—Block Diagram of Cellular Communication Circuitry

FIG. 5 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of cellularcommunication circuitry 330, according to some embodiments. It is notedthat the block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry of FIG. 5is only one example of a possible cellular communication circuit; othercircuits, such as circuits including or coupled to sufficient antennasfor different RATs to perform uplink activities using separate antennas,or circuits including or coupled to fewer antennas, e.g., that may beshared among multiple RATs, are also possible. According to someembodiments, cellular communication circuitry 330 may be included in acommunication device, such as communication device 106 described above.As noted above, communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE)device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wirelessstation, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computingdevice (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), atablet and/or a combination of devices, among other devices.

The cellular communication circuitry 330 may couple (e.g.,communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, suchas antennas 335 a-b and 336 as shown. In some embodiments, cellularcommunication circuitry 330 may include dedicated receive chains(including and/or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly orindirectly) dedicated processors and/or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g.,a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). Forexample, as shown in FIG. 5 , cellular communication circuitry 330 mayinclude a first modem 510 and a second modem 520. The first modem 510may be configured for communications according to a first RAT, e.g.,such as LTE or LTE-A, and the second modem 520 may be configured forcommunications according to a second RAT, e.g., such as 5G NR.

As shown, the first modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 anda memory 516 in communication with processors 512. Modem 510 may be incommunication with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. RF front end530 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals.For example, RF front end 530 may include receive circuitry (RX) 532 andtransmit circuitry (TX) 534. In some embodiments, receive circuitry 532may be in communication with downlink (DL) front end 550, which mayinclude circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna 335 a.

Similarly, the second modem 520 may include one or more processors 522and a memory 526 in communication with processors 522. Modem 520 may bein communication with an RF front end 540. RF front end 540 may includecircuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, RFfront end 540 may include receive circuitry 542 and transmit circuitry544. In some embodiments, receive circuitry 542 may be in communicationwith DL front end 560, which may include circuitry for receiving radiosignals via antenna 335 b.

In some embodiments, a switch 570 may couple transmit circuitry 534 touplink (UL) front end 572. In addition, switch 570 may couple transmitcircuitry 544 to UL front end 572. UL front end 572 may includecircuitry for transmitting radio signals via antenna 336. Thus, whencellular communication circuitry 330 receives instructions to transmitaccording to the first RAT (e.g., as supported via the first modem 510),switch 570 may be switched to a first state that allows the first modem510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmitchain that includes transmit circuitry 534 and UL front end 572).Similarly, when cellular communication circuitry 330 receivesinstructions to transmit according to the second RAT (e.g., as supportedvia the second modem 520), switch 570 may be switched to a second statethat allows the second modem 520 to transmit signals according to thesecond RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain that includes transmit circuitry544 and UL front end 572).

As described herein, the first modem 510 and/or the second modem 520 mayinclude hardware and software components for implementing any of thevarious features and techniques described herein. The processors 512,522 may be configured to implement part or all of the features describedherein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memorymedium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium).Alternatively (or in addition), processors 512, 522 may be configured asa programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field ProgrammableGate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).Alternatively (or in addition) the processors 512, 522, in conjunctionwith one or more of the other components 530, 532, 534, 540, 542, 544,550, 570, 572, 335 and 336 may be configured to implement part or all ofthe features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processors 512, 522 may include one ormore processing elements. Thus, processors 512, 522 may include one ormore integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform thefunctions of processors 512, 522. In addition, each integrated circuitmay include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.)configured to perform the functions of processors 512, 522.

In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 330 mayinclude only one transmit/receive chain. For example, the cellularcommunication circuitry 330 may not include the modem 520, the RF frontend 540, the DL front end 560, and/or the antenna 335 b. As anotherexample, the cellular communication circuitry 330 may not include themodem 510, the RF front end 530, the DL front end 550, and/or theantenna 335 a. In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry330 may also not include the switch 570, and the RF front end 530 or theRF front end 540 may be in communication, e.g., directly, with the ULfront end 572.

FIGS. 6-8—Cross-Slot Scheduling

Some wireless standards (e.g., NR) may permit variable time separationbetween control information and corresponding data. Control informationmay correspond to data (e.g., uplink and/or downlink data) to betransmitted during various time periods (e.g., during a same slot or alater slot) as the control information. For example, in NR cross-slotscheduling may refer to a base station transmitting control information(e.g., physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)) during a first slotfor corresponding data (e.g., physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH))during a later slot. Same-slot scheduling may also be permitted. Inother words, PDCCH or other control information transmitted in a firstslot may correspond to data transmitted in the same slot (e.g.,same-slot scheduling) or a later slot (e.g., cross-slot scheduling).

Relative to same-slot scheduling, cross-slot scheduling may allow forsome advantages. For example, cross-slot scheduling may allow for powersaving at the UE. The UE may achieve such power saving by powering off(or powering down) one or more radio frequency (RF) components of the UEimmediately after receiving control information (e.g., prior to decodingthe PDCCH and/or downlink control information (DCI)) and leave thecomponents powered off (or down) until needed to receive correspondingdata or further control information. Further, the UE may power down oneor more baseband components. For example, the wireless device may powerdown/off at least some receive circuitry, such as one or more receiverchains. The wireless device may leave the RF components powered off/downfor the duration of a time period in which data is transmitted (e.g.,PDSCH) if no grant is present for the data period. The UE may turn onthe RF components for future control information periods and/or forfuture data periods based on the control information.

Further, cross-slot scheduling may facilitate design simplification andpower saving by allowing a gap in time between PDCCH and PDSCH (e.g., orother time periods for control information and data, respectively).Based on decoded control information, the UE may, during the gap intime, configure changes (e.g., in antenna and/or other hardwareconfiguration) for receiving the PDSCH relative to PDCCH. For example,the UE may use one or more of a different beam or different antennaelements to receive PDSCH. For example, PDCCH may use a single-layerreception configuration, whereas PDSCH may use a multi-layer receptionconfiguration, among various possibilities. Also, PDCCH may use a widerbeam (e.g., which may provide more robustness) while PDSCH may use anarrower beam (e.g., higher throughput). Similarly, due to a change inposition/orientation of the device, it may be beneficial for the UE touse a different directional receive beam for receiving the PDSCHrelative to what was used for the PDCCH. The gap may allow time for suchconfiguration changes. In contrast, single-slot scheduling may bebeneficial for delay sensitive applications, according to someembodiments.

Various parameters (e.g., scheduling parameters) may be used toconfigure cross-slot scheduling, in particular the time interval (e.g.,delay) between control information and corresponding data (e.g., payloaddata for an application, or potentially further control information).For example, in NR, the parameter K0 may be defined as the distance(e.g., in time) between PDCCH and the corresponding PDSCH, measured inslots. For example, K0 equal to 0 may indicate same-slot scheduling andK0 greater than 0 may indicate cross-slot scheduling, e.g., PDCCH andits corresponding PDSCH are not scheduled at the same slot. For example,K0 equal to 2 may indicate cross-slot scheduling with the correspondingdata transfer (uplink and/or downlink) to occur two slots later.

A set of possible delay values (e.g., values of K0) may be configured bya higher layer (e.g., radio resource control (RRC)), according to someembodiments. For example, a network may configure a set of possibledelays (e.g., K0 values) during RRC setup. In some embodiments, K0=0 maytypically be included as one of multiple options in such a set.

However, the delay for a specific slot (e.g., transmission time interval(TTI)) may be transmitted in downlink control information (DCI), e.g.,via PDCCH. Thus, if the set of possible delay values includes cross-slot(e.g., K0>0) and same-slot (e.g., K0=0) possibilities, a UE may notdetermine whether the slot is cross-slot scheduled or same-slotscheduled until after DCI is decoded. In other words, the UE may not beable to eliminate the possibility of same-slot scheduling prior todecoding DCI. The time to decode DCI/PDCCH may be referred to as adecoding delay.

This inability to eliminate the possibility of same-slot schedulingprior to decoding DCI may frustrate the benefits of cross-slotscheduling. For example, the UE may keep awake (e.g., not depowercomponents) until after DCI is decoded (e.g., because the UE must beable to receive PDSCH in the event of same-slot scheduling). Thus, thepower saving benefit of cross-slot scheduling may be reduced. Further,the decoding delay may create challenges for changing hardwareconfigurations (e.g., antennas, beams, etc.) between PDCCH and PDSCH,e.g., because such changes require time.

Accordingly, it may be desirable, at least in some embodiments, toprovide a mechanism for the UE to determine, prior to decoding controlinformation for a particular interval, whether that interval issame-slot scheduled or cross-slot scheduled, or rule out the possibilityof same-slot scheduling in at least some circumstances. FIG. 6 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an example of such a method, at leastaccording to some embodiments. Aspects of the method of FIG. 6 may beimplemented by a wireless device such as a UE 106 illustrated in variousof the Figures herein, a base station such as a BS 102 illustrated invarious of the Figures herein, and/or more generally in conjunction withany of the computer systems or devices shown in the above Figures, amongother devices, as desired. For example, any of the various devices mayinclude a processor(s) or other processing element(s) (e.g., 302, 330,352, 354, 356, 404, 512, 522, etc.) configured to cause the device toperform some or all aspects of the method of FIG. 6 .

In various embodiments, some of the elements of the methods shown may beperformed concurrently, in a different order than shown, may besubstituted for by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additionalelements may also be performed as desired. Note that while at least someelements of the method of FIG. 6 are described in a manner relating tothe use of communication techniques and/or features associated with 3GPPspecification documents, such description is not intended to be limitingto the disclosure, and aspects of the method of FIG. 6 may be used inany suitable wireless communication system, as desired. Further,although aspects of the method of FIG. 6 are described relating todownlink transmission, it should be noted that the method may apply touplink transmission as well. As shown, the method of FIG. 6 may operateas follows.

At 4102, a UE 106 in communication with a base station 102 may receiveat least one scheduling parameter transmitted by the base station. Thescheduling parameter may be useable by the UE to determine a duration ofa delay between control information and corresponding data for at leastone time period (e.g., a first slot or a current slot). For example, thescheduling parameter may indicate whether at least one slot iscross-slot scheduled or may be same-slot scheduled. For example, in somecases, the scheduling parameter may allow the UE 106 to rule out thepossibility of same-slot scheduling for at least one slot. Thescheduling parameter may be applicable for one or more slots.

In some embodiments, the at least one scheduling parameter may betransmitted as a (e.g., RRC) configuration, e.g., setting possiblevalues of K0. For example, the at least one scheduling parameter may bean information element (IE) such asPDSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocationList, that configures a table withpossible values of K0. FIG. 7 is an illustrative example of such atable. In the example of FIG. 7 , K0 may range from 0 to 32. It will beappreciated that the illustrated table is exemplary only. A table thatincludes values of K0 that are all greater than 0 (e.g., a table thatdoes not include K0 equal to 0) may indicate that all slots (e.g., whilethe RRC configuration is effective) may be cross-slot scheduled. Inother words, based on a set of K0 values that are all greater than 0,until the RRC configuration is changed, the UE may be able to determinethat all slots are cross-slot scheduled. The UE may thus rule out thepossibility of same slot scheduling while the table is applicable. Suchan approach may be relatively inflexible.

In some embodiments, the at least one scheduling parameter may be anindication to turn on or off a “freezing K0” feature. Such an indicationmay be transmitted as a media access control (MAC) control element (CE),e.g., via PDCCH, among various possibilities. Thus, the indication maybe used to dynamically adapt K0. Over the duration of an activeindication that freezes K0, the K0 value may remain constant (e.g.,frozen, locked). K0 may be frozen at a particular value (e.g., asspecified by the scheduling parameter) or at a current value of K0(e.g., K0 is unchanged from the K0 value in effect immediately prior tothe scheduling parameter). Based on such an indication that K0 is frozenwith K0>0, the UE may be able to determine that all slots are cross-slotscheduled (with a specific delay, as indicated by K0). For example, K0may be frozen at a first value for a first time period (e.g., slot a toslot b, including any number of intermediate slots) and may be unfrozenfor a second time period (e.g., slot b+1 to slot c), and may be frozenat a second value for a third time period (e.g., slot c+1 to slot d).Such a feature may be implemented in at least the following alternativeways.

In a first alternative, the at least one scheduling parameter mayindicate activation/deactivation of K0 freezing. As noted above, if K0is frozen at a current or indicated value (e.g., based on a MAC CEactivating freezing), and K0 may not be changed until a later MAC CEdeactivates freezing.

In a second alternative, the at least one scheduling parameter mayindicate a duration that K0 may remain constant (e.g., frozen, locked).In other words, the scheduling parameter may indicate a duration that K0may remain at a single value, e.g., a current value or another specifiedvalue. Based an such an indication, the UE may determine a number ofslots for which K0 may remain at the specified value, e.g., the UE maydetermine a number of slots that are cross-slot scheduled. Thescheduling parameter may indicate start and end times for the duration.Alternatively, the scheduling parameter may be relative to a currenttime, e.g., the amount of time that K0 will not be changed from itscurrent value. Such a window may be changed (e.g., extended or possiblyshortened) by further indications.

In a third alternative, the at least one scheduling parameter mayindicate a minimum delay time (e.g., minimum K0 value, K0_min) to beused for period of time, e.g., until changed. For example, thescheduling parameter may set K0_min equal to 1, thus precluding thepossibility of same slot scheduling until K0_min is changed to 0.

It will be appreciated that these alternatives may be used in variouscombinations. For example, a K0_min value may be provided with aspecified duration. For example, the one or more scheduling parametersmay indicate that K0 will not be less than 1 for the next 100 slots,etc. Further, a K0_min value may be set and frozen or unfrozen (e.g.,activated or deactivated) by further indications. For example, K0_minequal to 2 (e.g., or other value, as desired) may be set and frozen(e.g., activated) by a first indication. The value of K0 may fluctuate(e.g., as indicated in DCI), but may be at least 2 following the firstindication. A second indication may unfreeze (e.g., deactivate) K0_min,e.g., so that K0 may be lower for a period of time. In other words, K0may continue to fluctuate and may go to values lower than 2. A thirdindication may re-freeze K0_min, e.g., to put the minimum value of 2 (ora different minimum value) back into effect.

Still further, a scheduling parameter indicating one or more futurevalues of K0 and/or K0_min may also be used. For example, a schedulingparameter may be transmitted to indicate that after a first window witha first (e.g., frozen) K0 value, a second (future) window with a secondfrozen K0 value may be scheduled. For example, K0=1 for the next 10slots, followed by at least one slot (e.g., or a second window with asecond duration) with K0=2, etc. In other words, a schedule of one ormultiple K0 and/or K0_min values may be set for any number of futurewindows. Such a schedule may be set (e.g., indicated) by any number ofscheduling parameters transmitted at any time or combination of times.

In some embodiments, the at least one scheduling parameter may be atoggle indicating whether the delay may change for a next slot. Such atoggle may be implemented in various ways, e.g., using an index or flagtransmitted as an element of DCI. For example, as shown in FIG. 8 , ifthe value of an index is the same as in a previous slot, the toggle mayindicate that K0 will not change for a next slot (e.g., a downlink (DL)grant in a next slot's PDCCH may use the same K0 as a DL grant in thecurrent slot). In contrast, if the index is not the same as in aprevious slot, the toggle may indicate that K0 could or will change forthe next slot. In order to implement a K0 toggle, the format of DCIcould be changed, e.g., by adding 1 bit for such a toggle indication.Such a toggle in DCI may be highly flexible, however it may risk errorpropagation, according to some embodiments. For example, in the case ofmissing a grant (e.g., in DCI), a UE may miss two PDSCH for two slots ina row.

In some embodiments, the BS 102 may dynamically determine whether toapply cross-slot or same-slot scheduling for the UE 106 during one ormore slots. The BS 102 may further determine a scheduling parameter orcombination of scheduling parameters to indicate to the UE which type ofscheduling is applicable to one or more slots. For example, when the BS102 determines to apply cross-slot scheduling, the BS 102 may use any ofthe various techniques described above to indicate cross-slot scheduling(e.g., to indicate to the UE 106 that K0 will not equal 0 for theslot(s) for which the scheduling parameter is applicable). The BS 102may transmit the scheduling parameter(s) to the UE 106. The BS 102 mayupdate the scheduling determination dynamically (e.g., periodically, oras needed, etc.) and may transmit additional (e.g., updated) schedulingparameters to the UE according to the updated determination. Thescheduling parameter(s) may be transmitted prior to the slot(s) to whichthe scheduling parameter(s) applies, e.g., so that the UE can make adetermination of cross-slot scheduling or same-slot scheduling prior toreceiving control information in a relevant slot. For example, in orderto allow the UE to realize the benefits of cross-slot scheduling duringa first slot, the BS may transmit the scheduling parameter(s) to the UE(e.g., indicating cross-slot scheduling for the first slot) prior to thefirst slot. During the first slot, the BS may transmit controlinformation to the UE. The control information may be consistent withthe scheduling parameter(s). For example, if the scheduling parameter(s)indicates cross-slot scheduling for the first slot, the controlinformation transmitted during the first slot may apply to a datatransfer or other communication (e.g., uplink and/or downlink) scheduledfor a later slot or slots (e.g., one or slots following the first slot,e.g., immediately after the first slot or after one or more intermediateslots, e.g., consistent with K0). Further, the BS may perform thescheduled transfer or communication with the UE during the laterslot(s).

In 4104, based on the at least one scheduling parameter, the UE maydetermine whether to power down at least some components after receivingcontrol information during a slot (e.g., a current slot). Thedetermination of whether to power down any component(s) may be madebefore, after, or while the UE receives the control information. Theslot may be a slot during which the at least one scheduling parameter isin effect.

In other words, the UE may determine, based on the at least onescheduling parameter, that a delay between the control information andcorresponding data is (or is not) sufficient to power off or power downone or more components, e.g., that the corresponding data will notimmediately follow the control information. For example, the UE maydetermine that the scheduling parameter is an indication of cross-slotscheduling for the current slot. In other words, the UE may determinethat control information of a current slot is cross-slot scheduled,e.g., that the control information applies to a later slot, and may thusdetermine that no data (e.g., PDSCH) will be transmitted for the UEduring the current slot (e.g., the slot for which the determination ismade). Among various possibilities, the UE may determine that cross-slotscheduling applies based on any of the following: 1) an RRCconfiguration that does not include K0 equal to 0 (e.g., K0 is greaterthan 0), 2) K0 is frozen at a value of K0 greater than 0, 3) K0_min isin effect and is greater than 0, and/or 4) K0 of a previous slot isgreater than 0 and a toggle indicates that K0 will not change for thecurrent slot. Similarly, the UE may determine that same-slot schedulingis possible if none of the previous conditions is true. If same-slotscheduling is possible, the UE may determine not to power downcomponents after receiving he control information.

In some embodiments, the UE may further consider control informationfrom one or more prior slots to make this determination. For example,the UE may determine whether or not control information received in aprior slot is associated with a current slot (e.g., cross-slotscheduling). If a prior slot's control information included a downlinkgrant for the current slot, the UE may determine not to power off anycomponents. Thus, the UE may remain active/awake to receive the data(e.g., PDSCH) corresponding to previously received and decoded controlinformation (e.g., PDCCH).

In some embodiments, the UE may further determine which specificcomponents to power off and/or power down. Such components may includeany of receive circuitry, RF components, baseband circuitry, antennas,receiver chains, etc. The specific components to be powered off/down maybe selected based on the length of the delay and/or the amount of timenecessary to power the component off and back on, according to someembodiments. For example, in some embodiments it may be possible to morequickly power/depower one element (e.g., RF circuitry or a basebandprocessor) relative to other components of the receiver chain; e.g.,some elements may have a shorter “power-off time” or “cycle time” thanother elements. Thus, under some circumstances, an opportunity may existto save power by temporarily depowering one or more elements withoutdepowering the remainder of the chain (e.g., because the amount of timeto depower and repower the remaining components may exceed the amount oftime before those components may be needed). In other words, specificelements may be selected to power off based on a comparison of thepower-off time and a transmission time interval (TTI) associated with anactive communication session.

In 4106, based on a determination to power down, the UE may power downat least one component after receiving the control information of acurrent time interval/slot and prior to decoding the controlinformation. To power down a component may include partly or fullydepowering the component. For example, a component may be powered off orremain operating at a reduced power level (e.g., and potentially at areduced performance/capability).

The components may remain powered off/down for any length of time. Forexample, the components may remain power off/down until a periodassociated with control information in a subsequent slot. For example,after receiving PDCCH of a current slot during a current controlinformation receiving period, the UE may power off/down components, andthey may remain powered off/down for the remainder of the slot. Thecomponents may be powered back up/on for a next control informationreceiving period, e.g., in time to receive PDCCH of a next slot. The UEmay decode the control information while the components are poweredoff/down.

The control information may be or include DCI transmitted via PDCCH. Thecontrol information may specify any delay between the controlinformation and corresponding data, e.g., K0. For example, the controlinformation may indicate a particular time for the UE to receive and/ortransmit corresponding downlink and/or uplink data. The UE may power onthe component(s) in order to receive and/or transmit the correspondingdownlink and/or uplink data at the particular time, e.g., in a futureslot specified by the control information.

In some embodiments, the control information may include a furtherscheduling parameter, e.g., one or more of the scheduling parametersdiscussed above in 4102. Such a further scheduling parameter may beapplicable to further control information to be received in a futureslot. For example, the further scheduling parameter may be useful todetermine what slot(s) may include data corresponding to the futurecontrol information. In other words, the further scheduling parameter(s)may be usable to determine whether or not the future control informationmay be cross-slot scheduled and thus whether or not components may bedepowered in future slots.

In some embodiments, in response to a determination that same-slotscheduling is possible for the current slot, the UE may not power downany components after receiving the control information.

In the following, exemplary embodiments are provided.

Embodiments of the present invention may be realized in any of variousforms. For example, in some embodiments, the present invention may berealized as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable memorymedium, or a computer system. In other embodiments, the presentinvention may be realized using one or more custom-designed hardwaredevices such as ASICs. In other embodiments, the present invention maybe realized using one or more programmable hardware elements such asFPGAs.

In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium(e.g., a non-transitory memory element) may be configured so that itstores program instructions and/or data, where the program instructions,if executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform amethod, e.g., any of a method embodiments described herein, or, anycombination of the method embodiments described herein, or, any subsetof any of the method embodiments described herein, or, any combinationof such subsets.

In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE) may be configured to includea processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium (or memoryelement), where the memory medium stores program instructions, where theprocessor is configured to read and execute the program instructionsfrom the memory medium, where the program instructions are executable toimplement any of the various method embodiments described herein (or,any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or, anysubset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or, anycombination of such subsets). The device may be realized in any ofvarious forms.

In one set of embodiments, a method may comprise, by a wireless device:receiving a scheduling parameter from a base station, wherein thescheduling parameter comprises an indication of cross-slot scheduling;determining, based at least in part on the scheduling parameter, topower down at least one component after receiving control informationfrom the base station; receiving the control information from the basestation; powering down the at least one component after receiving thecontrol information; and decoding the control information.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise: powering on the atleast one component; and receiving second control information from thebase station.

In some embodiments, the scheduling parameter comprises a media accesscontrol (MAC) control element (CE).

In some embodiments, said determining is further based at least in parton previously received control information.

In some embodiments, the scheduling parameter comprises an indicationthat a value of K0 is greater than 0 for a current slot.

In some embodiments, the scheduling parameter comprises an indicationthat a value of K0 is frozen.

In some embodiments, the scheduling parameter comprises an indicationthat a value of K0 is greater than a minimum value.

In some embodiments, the scheduling parameter comprises an indicationthat a value of K0 is unchanged from a previous value of K0.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise: receiving a radioresource control (RRC) configuration from the base station, wherein theRRC configuration specifies a plurality of scheduling options comprisingsame-slot scheduling and cross-slot scheduling, wherein said determiningcomprises ruling out same-slot scheduling.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise: receiving anindication of a duration of the scheduling parameter.

In some embodiments, said decoding occurs while the at least onecomponent is powered down.

Another exemplary embodiment may include a wireless device, comprising:an antenna; a radio coupled to the antenna; and a processing elementoperably coupled to the radio, wherein the device is configured toimplement any or all parts of the preceding examples.

A further exemplary set of embodiments may include a non-transitorycomputer accessible memory medium comprising program instructions which,when executed at a device, cause the device to implement any or allparts of any of the preceding examples.

A still further exemplary set of embodiments may include a computerprogram comprising instructions for performing any or all parts of anyof the preceding examples.

Yet another exemplary set of embodiments may include an apparatuscomprising means for performing any or all of the elements of any of thepreceding examples.

It is well understood that the use of personally identifiableinformation should follow privacy policies and practices that aregenerally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmentalrequirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular,personally identifiable information data should be managed and handledso as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use,and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users.

Although the embodiments above have been described in considerabledetail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent tothose skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace allsuch variations and modifications.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A method for operating a user equipment device(UE), the method comprising: establishing a wireless connection with abase station; receiving, from the base station in a first slot, ascheduling parameter in a downlink control information (DCI) messageindicating whether a minimum K0 value, K0_min is changed from a currentK0_min value to a second K0_min value starting from a second slot,wherein the minimum K0 value, K0_min, is a minimum slot offset forcross-slot scheduling of corresponding data applicable starting from thesecond slot subsequent to the first slot; determining that first controlinformation arriving at or after the second slot uses cross-slotscheduling with the minimum slot offset the K0_min value indicated bythe scheduling parameter; receiving, from the base station, the firstcontrol information during the second slot; and decoding the firstcontrol information determining a slot offset, K0 for correspondingdata, wherein the slot offset, K0, is greater than or equal to theK0_min value.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the schedulingparameter is indicated as a 1-bit index.
 23. The method of claim 21,further comprising: receiving a radio resource control (RRC)configuration from the base station, wherein the RRC configurationspecifies a plurality of scheduling options including same-slotscheduling and cross-slot scheduling, wherein determining that the firstcontrol information arriving at or after the second slot uses cross-slotscheduling with a minimum slot offset of K0_min is based on ruling outsame-slot scheduling for the second slot.
 24. The method of claim 21,further comprising: powering down a receiver chain prior to decoding thefirst control information; repowering the receiver chain for a thirdslot subsequent to the second slot; receiving, from the base station,second control information including an updated scheduling parameter;determining that the updated scheduling parameter indicates same-slotscheduling for a fourth slot subsequent to the third slot; and inresponse to the determination that the updated scheduling parameterindicates same-slot scheduling for the fourth slot, determining not topower down the receiver chain prior to decoding control informationreceived during the fourth slot.
 25. The method of claim 21, wherein thescheduling parameter comprises a media access control (MAC) controlelement (CE).
 26. The method of claim 21, further comprising: poweringdown a receiver chain prior to decoding the first control information,wherein said powering down the receiver chain is further based at leastin part on previously received control information.
 27. The method ofclaim 21, further comprising: receiving second control informationchanging the K0_min value.
 28. The method of claim 21, furthercomprising: receiving, from the base station, second control informationincluding an updated scheduling parameter; and determining that theupdated scheduling parameter indicates same-slot scheduling for a thirdslot subsequent to the second slot.
 29. A method, comprising: by a basestation of a cellular network: establishing communication with a userequipment device (UE); at a first slot, transmitting, to the UE, ascheduling parameter in a downlink control information (DCI) messageindicating whether a minimum K0 value, K0_min is changed from a currentK0_min value to a second K0_min value starting from a second slot,wherein the K0_min value is a minimum slot offset for cross-slotscheduling of corresponding data applicable starting from a second slotsubsequent to the first slot; during the second slot, transmitting, tothe UE, first control information indicating a slot offset, K0, for datacorresponding to the first control information, wherein the slot offset,K0, is greater than or equal to the K0_min value; and performingcommunication with the UE according to the first control information.30. The method of claim 29, wherein the scheduling parameter isindicated as a 1-bit index.
 31. The method of claim 29, the methodfurther comprising: transmitting, to the UE, a radio resource control(RRC) configuration, wherein the RRC configuration specifies a pluralityof scheduling options comprising same-slot scheduling and cross-slotscheduling.
 32. The method of claim 29, further comprising:transmitting, second control information including an updated schedulingparameter indicating same-slot scheduling for a fourth slot subsequentto a third slot.
 33. The method of claim 29, wherein the schedulingparameter comprises a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).34. The method of claim 29, further comprising: powering down a receiverchain prior to decoding the first control information, wherein saidpowering down the receiver chain is further based at least in part onpreviously received control information.
 35. The method of claim 29,further comprising: transmitting, to the UE, second control informationchanging the K0_min value.
 36. An apparatus, comprising: a processorconfigured to cause a user equipment device (UE) to perform operationscomprising: establishing a wireless connection with a base station;receiving, from the base station in a first slot, a scheduling parameterin a downlink control information (DCI) message indicating whether aminimum K0 value, K0_min is changed from a current K0_min value to asecond K0_min value starting from a second slot, wherein the minimum K0value, K0_min, is a minimum slot offset for cross-slot scheduling ofcorresponding data applicable starting from the second slot subsequentto the first slot; determining that first control information arrivingat or after the second slot uses cross-slot scheduling with the minimumslot offset the K0_min value indicated by the scheduling parameter;receiving, from the base station, the first control information duringthe second slot; and decoding the first control information determininga slot offset, K0 for corresponding data, wherein the slot offset, K0,is greater than or equal to the K0_min value.
 37. The apparatus of claim36, wherein the scheduling parameter is indicated as a 1-bit index. 38.The apparatus of claim 36, the operations further comprising: receivinga radio resource control (RRC) configuration from the base station,wherein the RRC configuration specifies a plurality of schedulingoptions including same-slot scheduling and cross-slot scheduling,wherein determining that the first control information arriving at orafter the second slot uses cross-slot scheduling with a minimum slotoffset of K0_min is based on ruling out same-slot scheduling for thesecond slot.
 39. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the schedulingparameter comprises a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).40. The apparatus of claim 36, further comprising a radiocommunicatively coupled to the processor.